Canning mushrooms is an effective way to preserve them. Canning in general has been practised for years plus it is one of the easiest ways to keep your fruits, vegetables as well as meat fresh. You may think that you require a pressure cooker or canner for canning your mushrooms but that is not entirely true. Using a pressure cooker or pressure canner may be beneficial for canning all sorts of vegetables but you can also can your mushrooms including other vegetables using a hot water bath method.
Contents
What You Will Need
- Jars (pint/quart)
- Lids/seals and rings
- A Large pot
- A funnel (optional)
- Magnetic lid lifter
- Mushrooms
- Fresh thyme
- White wine vinegar
- Olive oil
- Granulated sugar
- Peppercorns
- Dried bay leaf
- Garlic cloves
- Red chile (about 2 inches long)
- Kosher salt
Prepare Your Tools
The first step is to prepare your tools. You can bring a large pot of water to a boil and immerse quart-sized canning jars, lids, and bands in the water and leave them to boil for 10 minutes or so in order to sterilize them. Using tongs, transfer the tools to a clean dishtowel to drain. It is important to make sure that your tools are clean before you can do anything. Also makes sure that your jars and lids are properly sterilized and free of chips and cracks. You can reuse jars and canning rings but not metal canning lids. Metal canning rings must be brand new to ensure that your canned mushrooms seal properly. The other option would be to make use of reusable glass canning lids. Be careful not to reuse metal lids, because they will not seal properly.
Prepare Your Mushrooms
When you are done preparing your tools the next step is to prepare your mushrooms. Make sure that you choose only brightly coloured ones, the ones that are small to medium in size and the ones with short stems, as well as tight veils or unopened caps. Just make sure that you choose the ones with no discoloration. It is not advisable to can wild mushrooms. Next trim the stems and discoloured parts and soak your mushrooms in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes in order to remove dirt. You can then wash them in clean water. Also leave small mushrooms whole and only cut the large ones.
Prepare The Brine
After your mushrooms are ready, prepare the brine. Make use of a small saucepan, and inside it pour some vinegar, oil, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic, chile, salt, and water and bring the mix to a boil over medium heat. Add your mushrooms and other ingredients of your choice and let them cook at a simmer for about five minutes or so. Once the brine and mushrooms are ready remove the saucepan and set it aside.
Fill Your Mushrooms
When the brine and mushrooms are ready you can fill the jars. Make use of a slotted spoon, to pack your sanitized jars with your mushrooms and brine. Make sure that you leave half an inch of headspace when you fill your jars. Afterwards remove any air bubbles before you seal. You can make use of a chopstick, or a non-metallic spatula and run it slowly up and down inside of the jar to remove any air bubbles inside the jars. Wipe the outside of the jars with a clean, damp cloth. When you are done and the jars are clean you can put the lid and screw on the canning ring.
Immerse The Jars In A Hot Water Bath
The last step is to immerse your jars in a hot water bath. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a simmer. When the water is ready, put your jars on a wire rack with handles and slowly lower them into the hot water. Make sure that your jars are fully covered with an inch of water or more over the lids. Cover the pot, and slowly bring the water up to a boil. Make sure that your jars do not jostle or rattle. Leave the jars in the boiling water for about 30 minutes or so. The processing time may be longer based on your elevation above sea level because of the change in atmospheric pressure.
Cool And Store
When you are done with all the steps you can cool and store your canned mushrooms. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for about five minutes or so. As the pot cools, cover your table or countertop with a clean towel or cooling racks. Remove the jars carefully, one at a time with a jar lifter and place them on the covered counter or table. Let the jars cool for at least 12-24 hours. When the canned mushrooms have cooled, remove the canning rings and check to see if the lids are sealed properly. Your canned mushrooms should be ready to store.
Tips For Canning Mushrooms
It is important to sterilize the tools and materials you use when canning. Preparing your jars in boiling water is crucial. Plus, there are a lot of recipes that require that you soap-wash or boil the rims and seals too. It is best to take the time you need with prepping your tools and jars so that your end product will be shelf-safe for a long period of time. Make sure that you do not use used seals. Once you have consumed all of the vegetables, meat or even mushrooms from a sealed jar, toss it or recycle it. Lastly, do not neglect to check your jar for cracks or chips because that will prevent your lids from sealing well.
Risks Associated With The Hot Water Bath Method
It is important to know that the hot water bath method does not guarantee a full seal in any way. There are risks associated with canning mushrooms using this method. Also note that the water bath method is a method used to preserve high-acid foods. Also, using the water bathing method will not get rid of all the botulism spores, but a pressure cooker will. This is because botulism spores do not die at 212F, which is the boiling point of water. A pressure cooker or canner boiling water at 15PSI can increase the boiling point to 250F or so and that can kill the spores.
